Disney Channel shifts to Foxtel Essentials

Following its new deal with The Walt Disney Company Australia, Foxtel has announced that the Disney Channel will become available to all subscribers as part of the Foxtel Essentials package.

Previously it was part of the Kids + Music add-on.

New Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Disney-Pixar and Marvel titles will also join Foxtel Movies platforms, while Disney Channel and Disney Junior also become available via Foxtel Go.

The highest-grossing film of 2012 globally and the third-highest of all time, Marvel’s The Avengers, featuring Foxtel ambassador Chris Hemsworth, will premiere on Foxtel Movies Premiere Channel in March, and Disney-Pixar’s box-office hit Brave, winner of this year’s Golden Globe for best animated feature, will debut in April.

Richard Freudenstein, Foxtel Chief Executive said: “With this new agreement, Foxtel will become the home of Disney in Australia. The addition of Disney Channel to our Essentials pack offering is a huge value-add for our customers, and we are thrilled to welcome a great line-up of premiere Disney films to our new and invigorated Foxtel Movies service.”

John Cracknell, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand said: “Disney is renowned for the strength of our brands and businesses. We are excited that our expanded relationship with Foxtel allows our high-quality family entertainment to reach even more Australians at home or on the go.”

Foxtel’s programming is further boosted by an exclusive output arrangement with ABC Family Channel, part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, which produces a range of hit series for FOX8 including family dramas Switched At Birth, Secret Life of the American Teenager, Bunheads and upcoming new series The Fosters and Twisted, which will premiere later this year.

The Foxtel Movies & Premium Drama service consists of a Foxtel Movies Premiere channel for the latest release movies, six genre based Foxtel Movies channels (Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama/Romance, Family, Thriller/Crime and Masterpiece), showcase: the home of HBO (all available in HD) and World Movies as well as four +2 channels (for Premiere, showcase, Action/Adventure and Family).

Really liked Disney Channel in the days that it showed things like The Muppets and cartoons with their characters (gargoyles, timon & pumbaa, house of mouse, etc) before it turned into Miley Cyrus and friends.

Great to see an output deal with ABC Family finally made as it was rediculous the amount of programming Foxtel were buying which could have been reduced in cost. But with this deal, it means we could see a huge increase in ABC Family programming to include their sitcoms (e.g. Joey & Melissa) and I think it’s time for FOX8 to rebrand as FOX Family.